The world's largest science machine, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), is facing a pivotal moment as it prepares for its third 'Long Shutdown' and an upgrade to the 'High Luminosity' LHC. This upgrade, costing roughly $1.5 billion, aims to increase the rate of collisions and the number of net collisions, offering greater odds of sighting exotic particles and signatures to the as yet unknown undercurrents that birthed our universe. However, the question remains: after the Higgs boson, what next?
The LHC's high point was undoubtedly the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012, the particle tied to the field that gives elementary particles their mass. This discovery confirmed a theory that had earned Peter Higgs and François Englert the Nobel Prize in physics the year after. But the LHC has also verified the Standard Model in fine detail, filling in the family of hadrons and drawing ever-tighter limits on where undiscovered particles cannot be hiding.
However, the upgrades and future plans for an even bigger collider are in the hope of discovering signs of dark energy and dark matter, which make up 95% of our universe. The Future Circular Collider (FCC), an electron–positron 'Higgs factory' in a 91-kilometre tunnel, has been endorsed by the CERN Council as its preferred project. But not everyone is convinced, and the question remains: whether that ambition survives an age of war and frayed exchequers.
Personally, I think the LHC's upgrade is an exciting development, offering greater odds of sighting exotic particles and signatures to the as yet unknown undercurrents that birthed our universe. However, I also think that the FCC's first phase, which would collide at lower energies than the LHC reaches today, is a bit of a non-starter. In my opinion, the LHC has already achieved so much, and the FCC's ambition to pin down quantities already known to a few more decimal places seems a bit futile.
One thing that immediately stands out is the importance of international collaboration at CERN. The desire to contribute is more important than the geographic location, and this is a powerful message for the world. If you take a step back and think about it, the LHC is a testament to the power of human ingenuity and cooperation, and it's this that really suggests the potential for future discoveries and advancements.
What many people don't realize is that the LHC's upgrade is not just about discovering new particles, but also about advancing accelerator design, superconducting magnets, distributed computing, and the craft of international collaboration. This is a broader perspective that is often overlooked, and it's what makes the LHC such an exciting and important project.
In conclusion, the LHC's upgrade is an exciting development, offering greater odds of sighting exotic particles and signatures to the as yet unknown undercurrents that birthed our universe. However, the question remains: after the Higgs boson, what next? The answer lies in the power of human ingenuity and cooperation, and the potential for future discoveries and advancements.
